While many people love the taste of a turkey cooked in a deep fryer, this method of cooking has the potential to be very dangerous if not done properly. Statistically, Thanksgiving Day has the highest incidence of cooking related fires.
The deep fryer should be a minimum of 10 feet from any combustible materials, including cooking on a wooden deck. The turkey must be completely thawed and dried before it is put in the deep fryer. Moisture introduced into a fryer will cause a violent eruption of the grease, and there will be an ensuing large fire. Keep kids and animals away from the fryer at all times.
Shut off the fuel when adding the turkey as a safety precaution should the oil boil-over. A good way to judge how much oil to use can be done by putting cold oil in the fryer and then slowly lowering in the turkey to ensure that the oil does not overflow.